Most Opteron and Athlon 64, 64FX Socket 940
and 754 Motherboards will come with a compatible
metal backing plate, utilizing 6-32 thread
metal standoffs. However, if a board did
not come with a pre-installed backing plate,
or if it came with a backing plate that does
not conform to the AMD Thermal Design Guide,
(for example all plastic), then the optional
Alpha backing is required. (BP81OV)